Archive for Popular Tattoo Artists
In the Spotlight: Angelique Houtkamp
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Anyone who has ever seen the tattoo work of Angelique Houtkamp can’t help but be impressed at the delicate combination of historic influence and the bold elegant linework. The Dutch tattoo artist has made a name for herself with her highly original reinterpretation of the old-style school of tattoo flash that was largely inspired by sailor tattoos. If you have ever seen old posters from the 20s and 30s you will recognize many of the images that have influenced her work.
Lucky for those of us who can’t make the trip out to Holland, Angelique’s tattoo art has been made available for us through a couple of books. Both of these books not only give us a look at her gorgeous tattoo art, but also a glimpse into her world. They are both truly magical looks at an amazing and original artist whose work transcends the basic tattoo design and takes on a mystical imagery that can transport you to a new dimension.
Tattoo Darling is the first book of her work and not only shows off her amazing tattoo art but also lets us explore her fine art paintings in both watercolor and oil. Also included are interviews and commentary from folks such as Sunny Buick and Gemma Jones. It is filled with all finds of amazing pictures of a wide arrange of tattoo art, paintings and just plain inspirational photos that will have you wanting to jump a plane to Holland tomorrow!
The second book is titled Tattoo Mystique is a wonderful follow up to the introduction to Angelique work, with a more of her dreamy tattoo art and lots of little snippets of her life and the area in Holland where she lives and works. A great book for inspiration and anyone who just loves this amazing artist and the innovative design she brings to her tattoos. You are going to be so knocked out by this book you just might want to order two, one to enjoy and one to use for brag rights to all your friends!
As if this isn’t enough cool – Billabong is doing a line of t-shirts based on her designs as well, and have release this wonderful little introduction to Angelique and her artwork in a short video clip. Check it out:
In the Spotlight: Angelique Houtkamp
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Angelique Houtkamp is a renowned tattoo artist and painter that came to international attention only in her thirties. But considering the fact that Angelique had to take handwriting lessons as a youngster, to be able to understand her own handwriting, she sure had come a long way in a rather short span of time.
Angelique was born in a small town called Uithoorn, in the Netherlands. Like most tattoo artists, she knew very early in her life that she wanted to be a tattoo artist. The realization was set as she moved to Amsterdam at the age of eighteen. Although there was very few tattoo shops around back then and landing an apprenticeship anywhere was almost impossible, she persevered with the dream doing odd jobs. Finally at age 30 she got her big break. Her persistence in the field is truly inspirational and one can see this clearly in the work that she does.
When she learned how to pain in the classical style she soon discovered that that is where her true passion lay – tattoos that were reminiscent of the famed tattoo artist Sailor Jerry. As time passes she started selling her paintings at tattoo conventions. This was when the art gallery Outré (based in Australia) discovered her unique style and started selling her work for her. There on, it was just a matter of time before she became recognized as a painter and tattoo artist internationally.
She is now popularly known as the “inspirational Dutch tattoo mademoiselle” in the world of tattoos and body art. Her work is rightly describes as “deceptively simple, instantly recognizable and often humorous.” She is known for her unique style that adeptly mixes the classical “old school” images and style with legendary symbolism along with a touch of the contemporary Hollywood style evocative romance metaphors. Today she continues to exhibit and sell her work through a number of galleries worldwide, and through her own website. Although she spends most of her time painting she still does a little bit of tattoo wok now and then.